


The Big Conspiracy

by andamiro (arysthaeniru)



Category: Tennis no Oujisama | Prince of Tennis
Genre: Breaking the Fourth Wall, Gen, Mystery
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-07-18
Updated: 2014-07-18
Packaged: 2018-02-09 10:25:31
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 10,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1979310
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arysthaeniru/pseuds/andamiro
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Yanagi is confused about the difference in standards between professional tennis players and middle schoolers. He and Inui strive to find the answers to their dilemma. Written for <a href="http://p_o_t_exchange.livejournal.com/">PoT Exchange</a></p>
            </blockquote>





	The Big Conspiracy

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Hamigua](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Hamigua).



> Set after Nationals, but before U-17. Echizen has not abandoned Seigaku just yet (canon, whut canon). Previous Rikkai experience with Data juice is here: http://fanbook.livejournal.com/56232.html.

If anyone looked into the Yanagi Household at 11 at night that summer evening, it would have been a diabolical scene. Bubbling tubes of strangely coloured liquids, and raw ingredients with slightly pungent smells were scattered around the kitchen. In the middle of the finely organized chaos, were two young middleschoolers, with masks over their faces and aprons on. 

“You know,” said Yanagi with a frown, as he finely sliced the mushroom pieces. “We don’t play actual tennis.”

Inui, in the midst of frying shrimp and beetles, looked up with a frown. “Kyouju?” he asked, curiously. 

Yanagi turned around and shrugged. “Well, look at the Grand Slam tennis matches. Federer never uses Muga no Kyouchi or any of it’s gates. Neither does Djokovic, Murray, Nadal, Wawrinka. None of the older players did either, not even the tennis legends. Not McEnroe, Sampras, Becker, Agassi.”

Inui frowned a little as he flipped some of the shrimp over to roast them evenly on both sides. “I see what you mean...”

“And we looked at those images and video clips from the Japanese high school matches. They’re breaking walls, setting nets on fire...bending space and time. Breaking Newton’s Laws of Motion...” Yanagi shrugged as he finished dicing the mushrooms and swept it into the blender. “I could keep going. Nobody else plays like that. I compared with American and European high schools matches. They just play normal tennis. And they are supposed to have better high school leagues than Japan.”

Inui adjusted his glasses as he turned off the stoves and dropped the beetles and shrimps into the blender as well. “Well, Japan’s league was going to outstrip the American team, eventually. We knew that the appreciation curve was getting steeper, the curve must have obviously exceeded our calculations.”

Yanagi shook his head as he started crushing some limes for some actual liquid juice. “No, that’s not right either.” He stopped in his arduous task and turned around for a moment. “Who do you know in the tennis circuit that actually plays like a pro tennis player?”

Inui frowned as he started to clean up the stove. “I would say....the most advanced player who plays like Federer or Nadal is perhaps Yukimura or even Atobe.” 

“Right.” said Yanagi, with a nod. “But disregard Atobe, because I have heard no claims from any of the players of using anything like Koori no Sekai or Insight. So just Seiichi plays like a normal person in the top ten players, and even Seiichi uses yips like magic. Who else?”

“Fuji Yuuta. Mizuki. St. Rudolph players and Yamabuki players.” said Inui, as he stopped in his task to think over. “Ginka. Gyokurin. Everyone in Fudomine, except Tachibana. Shiraishi, to an extent. ”

Yanagi nodded, as he went back to crushing the lime juice. “My point is there, exactly. All of the players you’ve listed as being completely like a pro-tennis player, aren’t at the top of the circuit at all. Sadaharu, the people who play like the pros are being outstripped by us. We play like superheroes with magic powers, not kids.”

Inui shook his head, as he continued to scrub and wipe down the dishes and plates they’d used in a methodical pattern, that was most efficient to clean plates by. “Kyouju, you aren’t following your train of thought, entirely. Yukimura is capable of using Muga no Kyouchi. You even told me that in the aftermath of Nationals, he’s able to use Tenimuhou no Kiwami. He just chooses not to because of stamina issues. How hard is it to think in an adult game, where it could potentially reach five sets, that players choose not to use these techniques, to save their energy?”

Yanagi shrugged. “I’m just not sure they use techniques like ours. Genichirou and I were watching old videos of Federer when we were at his house the other day, back when Federer was a kid like us. Nothing like Zero-shiki, nothing like Fuurinkaazanrai, nothing like the triple counters. Just...normal tennis. It’s not something he just neglected for the pro circuit, it’s something he never had.”

Inui frowned. “We should go investigate.” he said, as he finished cleaning and leant back against the counter. “Echizen’s father used to be a professional tennis player, perhaps--”

“--we can pay him a visit. Is what you were going to say.” said Yanagi, as he finished crushing the lime juice and added the juice to the blender. “But there’s only a 63.4% that he’ll help us. According to Inoue and Shiba, the reporters of the magazine, he was summarily unhelpful when they went there.”

“It’s high enough a percentage that we should at least, try.” stated Inui, as he placed the lid on top the blender and started it up. They both fell silent as the loud machine went to work. They were both grateful that the Yanagi household was deserted of people for one night, or else such a venture would not have even been possible. Yanagi’s parents disapproved of concoctions being made with their money and Yanagi’s elder sister disliked the smell and sound. It was rare when either of their houses were completely empty, which was why they took advantage of it. 

“Is it done?” asked Yanagi, as Inui flicked off the blender and peered into the top. 

“No, not to 100% yet, it’s still too solid. It’s difficult enough to drink without it being solid too. Needs to be perfectly liquid.” muttered Inui, under his breath. “Previous experiments have shown that juice is easier to ingest when more like a complete liquid.”

“Milk will help with the texture.” said Yanagi, as he opened the fridge and handed a carton to Inui. Inui poured in about half a cup and closed the lid again, to blend the mixture. They both placed their faces close to the bottom to monitor the texture closely. Inui stopped the mixture again when Yanagi gave him a thumbs-up. 

“It’s at optimum texture and smell.” said Inui, as he opened the lid again. “And it looks good as well. Pink and bubbly.”

“Thanks to that shrimp, that was a good addition.” said Yanagi, with a slight smirk. “These will be useful tomorrow in the practise matches.”

Inui nodded as he poured the mixture of the mega blender into three large bottles. “Sanada called the matches because you all received U-17 invites as well, yes?”

Yanagi nodded as he started washing the blender. “Seiichi thought it was a good idea to keep up with the competition. He also wanted to play Tezuka again. He holds grudges for a long time, even if he pretends that he doesn’t, and he and Tezuka have an unfinished match from a long time ago.”

“Then we’d better hope that Yukimura wins his match against Tezuka. The odds are in his favour, but...” said Inui, glancing at the bottles, with a slight hint of anxiety. “Or else my life is forfeit. This juice is the most potent yet.”

“Seiichi will win. His desire to win is 45.6% larger than Tezuka’s, currently. Echizen will continue to form and win his match against Akaya, so he won’t refuse us the opportunity to speak with his father because of his loss.” said Yanagi, with a small frown. “He intensely dislikes the juice, yes?”

“He hates it.” confirmed Inui, with an nod. “But like you said, his chance of winning is 92.3%, so it’s not going to be an issue.”

Yanagi laughed dryly, as he leant back against the counter, drying his hands on the errant towel. “Then Seiichi will be irritated either way. But not with you. How bad does the juice taste?”

Inui chuckled, as he pushed up his glasses and pulled out two small cups from Yanagi’s shelf, which looked like his parent’s shot glasses. “Guaranteed to be awful. No point in hiding that it’s from us like we did with the first Rikkai exposure to the Juice. Might as well just make it the penalty from the get-go.”

Yanagi just snorted in memory of seeing Genichirou crying like a baby for two hours after the incident. “As you say, Hakase. Bottoms up?” he asked, as they poured a small amount for each other. 

“Ah. Kampai.” They clinked glasses and downed it in one gulp, screwing up their faces in disgust at the taste.

“Perfectly horrible.” coughed Inui. Yanagi nodded in agreement, unable to speak with his eyes watering.

(X)

“It’s good to see you all again.” greeted Yukimura cheerfully, as Seigaku trooped into Rikkai’s tennis courts. Inui noticed almost immediately how much better he looked from Nationals. Somehow, with all of the worry leading up to Nationals and being hospitalized during Yukimura’s match, he hadn’t noticed how drawn and ill that Yukimura had looked, back then. In hindsight, it was obvious that Yukimura had still been suffering while playing his match with Echizen. 

His skin almost glowed and he looked 34.6% less skinny, as he went forward to engage in a firm handshake with Tezuka. “Thank you for hosting these matches today, Yukimura.” said Tezuka, politely and evenly as ever. Inui had yet to catch the other in any expression except neutral or angry. Tezuka was truly formidable. 

“My pleasure. Thank you for accepting our offer. Rikkai are very excited for the practise matches. Please, make yourselves at home while you’re here.” Yukimura smiled angelically at all of them and Inui had to suppress a shiver at that expression. That smile promised only pain and destruction. 

Tezuka was the only one who seemed unaffected by these vibes however, merely nodding to Yukimura, as he unloaded his stuff on the benches outside of Rikkai’s outdoor courts. Inui watched the rest of Seigaku closely, waiting for when everyone went to go talk to the other Rikkai regulars, who were also getting ready. Finally, Kikumaru was first to break formation, going over to speak with Marui who had brought out a small cupcake to eat. 

At this, Inui immediately went over to Yanagi, who was engaged in a conversation with Sanada. “Inui.” greeted Sanada, with a firm nod. “It’ll be good to play you today.” he said, with a small nod.

Inui smiled. “Yes, indeed. It’ll be interesting data to play the Emperor for myself.” Sanada nodded, touched the brim of his cap briefly, before walking over to Tezuka and Yukimura, with a determined look on his face.

“97.6% they will talk about their shared history at the singles tournament.” said Yanagi, with a slight smile. “Is what you were going to say.”

“Actually, I was going to ask whether you had brought the Juice.” said Inui, with a slight grin. Yanagi frowned at him, evidently annoyed that he hadn’t managed to guess so well, this time around. “I should probably announce the juice penalty to everybody, soon.”

“After they make inter-school connections, please.” said Yanagi, nodding his head to the small freezer box by his feet. “It’s more amusing to see them get attached, then get competitive.”

“Will do. Should we ask Echizen about his father now, rather than after the announcement? There’s a 78.5% he’ll agree with us before the announcement, rather than the 43.9% he will after.” said Inui, as he pulled his notebook and jotted down the interesting connection between Yagyuu and Kaidoh, who were pleasantly smiling and chatting with each other, despite being the first ones to face off in their match line-up. How fascinating. 

“Let’s. He seems to be antagonising Akaya, in any case, so I would have needed to step in anyway. Better earlier than later, with Akaya.” said Yanagi, straightening a little as they walked over to where the two were bickering. 

Yanagi tapped a rapidly reddening and fuming Kirihara on the shoulder and frowned at him, quite impressively, opening his eyes for a little while. 

“But senpaaaaaiii...” whined Kirihara, pulling a face as his fists clenched.

“Enough.” agreed Inui, directing his remark to Echizen, with a cool look. “Save it for the match.” He moved his head in the light, to make his glasses glint perfectly, in a way to accentuate his point. Echizen turned his head away and pulled his hat lower, with an irritated click of his tongue. 

“Actually, Echizen-kun, we have a question for you.” said Yanagi, as he gripped Kirihara’s shoulder firmly, as both a measure to stop him from exploding and as a comforting gesture. “Would you mind terribly if we ask your father a couple of questions about the pro tennis life?”

Echizen looked up, his wide golden eyes meeting Yanagi’s, looking somewhat quizzical. “I guess you could. But baka oyaji probably won’t respond unless you play a tennis match with him.”

Inui nodded. “We’re prepared for that.” he said, with a nod. “Inoue-san said the same thing. But we wanted to know your opinion.”

“Pro-tennis life?” asked Kirihara quizzically, before his eyes sharpened. “Right, your dad’s _the_ Samurai. Must be a pain.”

Echizen tilted his head, in an almost appraising manner. “Right. He’s an idiot and wants me to be just like him. Which won’t happen, not even if he paid me.”

“Right? Dads with reputations are a _pain_.” said Kirihara, as he smiled a little. Yanagi let go of Kirihara’s shoulder and backed away, with a slightly amused smile, at the change of attitude between the two. Inui met his gaze with another smile as they looked around their teams to survey them. 

Yukimura, Fuji, Tezuka and Sanada were in a riveting conversation about past tournaments, which Inui easily identified as blatant posturing, hidden by a pretense of civility. Oishi, Kawamura and Kuwahara were commiserating about insane teammates, while exchanging healthcare tips that Inui already knew. Marui, Kikumaru, Niou and Momoshiro seemed to be in a competition to see who was best at arm-wrestling (it was Momoshiro), while Yagyuu and Kaidoh were still in avid conversation, about the Nishikori match against Murray. 

“A good point to interrupt, don’t you think?” murmured Inui to Yanagi, who only nodded, as he wandered back to his freezer box to pick up the juices.

“Before we all start the games, we’d like to upp the stakes a little.” declared Inui, projecting his voice out. Everyone turned to look at him and Inui almost faltered under Yukimura’s intense gaze. Luckily, Yanagi took over at that point. 

“Since these matches are purely friendly, we thought that we’d add an element of competition. If it’s okay with the captains, we’d like to give the Fun Guy juice to the losers of their respective matches.” Yanagi held up the pink juices, with a slight nod. “They are completely natural and beneficial to health.”

The majority of the Seigaku players were rapidly paling and the Rikkai members were exchanging slightly cautious looks at Seigaku’s reaction. “Worse than Penal Tea?” asked Kikumaru, looking slightly nervous. 

“Worse.” confirmed Inui, at Yanagi’s slightly confused look. He hadn’t shared the majority of the juice data with Yanagi just yet, though he planned on it in the future. Especially if this venture was a success. Kikumaru cowered behind Oishi at Inui’s words and Niou and Marui started to exchange looks of distrust. 

Tezuka nodded. “It’s fine with me.” he said, though Inui could hear a slight reluctance behind his voice. 

Yukimura and Yanagi seemed to be having an almost mental communication through their glances and frowns. Inui felt a little bothered that Yanagi had managed to foster such a close connection with Rikkai in such a short time. Only he and Yanagi had harboured the almost telepathy, in the past. That had been their thing. Still, he and Yanagi were still close friends, which made Inui feel a little more secure about the telepathy between Yukimura and Yanagi. 

Finally, Yukimura nodded, with a slightly displeased frown. “Fine. I’ll allow it.”

Sanada grimaced a little at Yukimura’s announcement and Inui met his gaze, with a nod. He knew that he would most likely lose to Sanada, since he had lost to Tezuka and Tezuka had lost to Sanada, but he wanted to make the other player have to work for it, in any case. He didn’t really want to drink the juice this time around.

“Let’s get started! Yagyuu vs. Kaidoh-kun on Court B.” called Yukimura, clapping his hands. “Good luck to everyone.” 

(X)

Inui finished writing his last bit of data as Yukimura landed his finishing blow for Tezuka. It had been an evenly matched battle, but in the end, Tezuka had lost to Yukimura who was on exemplary form. Inui was 78.6% sure that Tezuka would probably win their next match, whenever it happened, especially considering the pinched look that Tezuka had gained upon drinking the last bit of the Fun Guy Juice.

Inui exchanged glances with Yanagi, who was just smirking at the small pile of collapsed tennis boys with Fuji, who was enjoying a bottle of the Fun Guy Juice and Sanada who looked disgusted by how out-of-sorts they were. Kirihara, Kikumaru, Yagyuu, Kawamura and Marui were all lying in a pile, panting feebly as they clutched their empty bottles of water. Yagyuu, at the bottom of the pile, feebly wiggled to get out and Kikumaru still seemed to be experiencing spasms. None of the three there seemed to want to help the juice-victims. 

“I think that was a good game.” said Yukimura, as he removed his headband and joined Yanagi and Sanada. “Tezuka’s gotten better.” Fuji drifted away to talk to Tezuka. 

“Only a little.” said Sanada, as he handed Yukimura some water. Yukimura smiled at Sanada, cheerfully and turned to Inui and Yanagi. “So, get anything new?”

“You only broke about three records, nothing big.” said Yanagi, his face straight and plain, before cracking into a small smile. 

“It is the longest one-set match I’ve seen.” agreed Inui, with a nod. “Though had it extended any longer...” Kawamura made a gagging noise as he tried to recover his breathing functionality.

“Tezuka would have won. Yep.” said Yukimura, with a slight shrug. His jacket hadn’t fallen off his shoulders through the match, despite playing Tezuka. Inui wondered just how badly out of shape Yukimura had been for the Nationals Finals. “Still, it wasn’t, therefore, I won.”

“You didn’t use Muga no Kyouchi, even when Tezuka did.” said Yanagi and Inui looked up from his notebook. Was Yanagi starting investigation now? Was the question so important to him? Behind him, Kirihara started the crawl of life towards the water fountain, dragged behind by a queasy-looking Marui who didn’t seem to be able to crawl himself. 

“Of course I didn’t, Renji.” said Yukimura, with a smirk. “Muga’s a huge stamina drainer and like Inui just said, I would have lost if it had extended for longer or had I used Muga. And playing Tezuka hyped up on Saiki Kanpatsu is just like playing you with the Tezuka Zone. In the end, it’s like you said. Tennis is about returning the ball to where they can’t reach. I don’t need to sparkle to do that.”

Inui tossed a look to Yanagi. He had been right, previously, hadn’t he? It was all about stamina. 

“Genichirou. You didn’t use anything, either.” said Yanagi, ignoring Inui’s look. “And you were struggling against Sadaharu.” There was, of course, the fact that Sanada never struggled for stamina in his matches, simply because of his extra training. So perhaps that shot Inui’s theory to dust....

“It’s weak to use someone else’s moves and playstyle.” said Sanada, rolling his eyes. “If you’re going to win, do it by yourself and your own playstyle.” How like Sanada. 

“You’ve never wondered how we can pull off things like this?” asked Yanagi, with a faint smile. “I mean, like Seiichi said, we sparkle.”

Yukimura tilted his head to the side, with something that might have been confusion on somebody else. “It’s tennis. Bastard form of it, but still tennis. It just happens. What are you trying to do, Renji?”

“It’s an investigation into some of the top tennis players on our circuit. Inoue-san asked us to do some quick playstyle analysis, and we wanted your input.” interrupted Inui, before Yanagi could say anything. “Sorry, we didn’t ask beforehand.”

Sanada just tugged at his cap and grunted. “At least you aren’t stalking us like that Shiba-san.” he said, with a shrug. Yukimura just pulled a face and punched Sanada. “Don’t even mention it, idiot. She might come back....”

Yanagi dragged Inui away, with a weak smile towards his friends, despite Inui wanting to stay and find out more about exactly how Shiba-san had managed to stalk Yukimura and Sanada, when Inui had been unsuccessful in past endeavours. “They don’t even realize it isn’t real tennis, Hakase. We watch all of the opens together, late at night, and they’ve never seen Federer sparkle when he’s reached a tough situation and he’s about to lose. But everyone accepts that as truth for our games.”

Inui adjusted his glasses as he pondered over the best way to say that he was right. “For now, they’re proving my point. They choose not to use it, because there are more disadvantages to using Muga than advantages.”

“But it’s not just Muga. Gravity-defying shots. Explosive tennis balls. Flammable nets. That’s still normal to them! How is that normal to them? How did I only just realize that it’s not normal?” stressed Yanagi, before sighing and running a hand through his hair. “Let’s just talk to Echizen-san.”

Inui nodded, as he squeezed Yanagi’s shoulder. “We’ll figure this out, Kyouju. You and I together, we can take on the whole world and win.”

Yanagi smiled softly at Inui, with something more open than Inui had seen, since they had been younger. “Of course. 100% chance.”

(X)

Echizen looked almost bored as he waited for them by the gates. “You probably already know the way to my house, but oyaji gets weird about people asking questions unless he knows they’re my friends so....”

Inui nodded as they boarded the bus to Tokyo. “Thank you, Echizen.”

Yanagi nodded as he tucked his notebook into his side as they took their seats on the bus and lapsed into silence. “Well done on winning your game. Akaya’s not so easily quelled.” he said, to Echizen.

Echizen just shrugged. “He’s got a nasty temper to work on.” he said, with a shrug. “Getting angry doesn’t always solve problems.”

Yanagi smiled bitterly. “We’re working on it.” he said, softly, as if an admission of wrongdoing. Inui frowned a little. He’d missed out on a lot during four years away from each other. Yanagi wasn’t the same, not really. Inui sort of wished that Yanagi had been able to summon the courage to say goodbye all those years ago, so Inui could have grabbed a phone or an email address. It would have meant that the four years apart hadn’t been like hell without his best friend.

Still, times had passed, and Yanagi still wanted to be friends, even if it was more long-distance and distant than ever. Inui had to stop dwelling on the past.

“We’re here.” said Echizen, with a slight sigh, as they exited the bus, to see the temple that marked Echizen’s house. Echizen pushed the screen door open and kicked off his shoes. Inui and Yanagi followed suit, feeling a little fascinated to see the inside of the house with permission. 

“I’m home!” called Echizen, moodily, as he pointed towards the garden, where there was a tennis court in front of the temple. Well, that was new data, that Inui hadn’t known. He itched to write it in his notebook, but decided not to and just follow Yanagi outside, who smiled at Echizen, who just shuffled behind them. 

At the top of the temple was a very familiar looking monk. “You’re Echizen-kun’s father?” asked Inui, feeling a little incredulous. He had seen the man at many of their matches and has concluded that he was a stalker, not a parent...

“Ehh? What’s _this_?” asked Nanjirou Echizen, as he flipped himself upright and frowned. “You aren’t cute girls. Ryoma, what are you doing?”

Echizen pulled a face as his cat padded up to him and meowed at him. Ignoring his father, he picked up the cat and started stroking her. Karupin, was her name, Inui recalled, from the time that the cat had escaped from Echizen’s house to prowl around school. 

“Echizen-san. We’re friends of Echizen-kun. My name is Yanagi Renji and this is Inui Sadaharu. We wanted to ask you a few questions.” said Yanagi, politely, throwing Inui a slightly annoyed look. Inui knew what he was thinking: ‘so this is what the great samurai, herald of japanese tennis has turned into’. He was thinking it, as well. It was a little disappointing, that instead of retiring and aging with grace, he was an old lecher. 

“Do you play tennis?” asked Nanjirou Echizen, seemingly ignoring their introduction. Inui just gave Yanagi a look. They’d been expecting standoffishness, but it hadn’t quite prepared them for him. 

“Yes. Will you answer questions if we play a game against you? Doubles vs. Singles. It’ll be a nice challenge.” asked Yanagi, as he unwrapped his racket. 

“Why not? Ryoma, they any good?” asked Nanjirou cheerfully, as he picked up an old wooden racket from the side of the house. Was it tailored to him like Rokkaku’s rackets were?

“Some of the best.” said Echizen, dully. “I’m going upstairs now. Tell me when you’re leaving senpai.”

Inui nodded as he removed his own racket. He knew that Yanagi was tired from his match with Fuji and that he too was fairly worn from the match with Sanada. But as a doubles team, they were very capable of hiding each other’s flaws. He exchanged a grin with Yanagi as they settled on the court. A dust court, Inui had never played on a dust court before. Calculating the bounce would have to be done quickly and efficiently. It was a smooth dust-court, however, Well-maintained. It would make it easier to calculate.

Nanjirou served first, carelessly and madly. Yanagi, having taken the front returned it, and frowned a little as the bounce flopped a little. Nanjirou scoffed. “Come on, are you tennis players or what?”

“It is our first game on an unusual court, the time taken to adjust should be approximately a game.” said Inui, coolly, as he watched the trajectory of Nanjirou’s serve. It only really looked careless, it was very well-planned in reality, to put the enemy off guard. He took this serve and managed to place a little more power into it than Yanagi’s shot, learning from his partner’s mistake. Instead, this time, the ball bounced outside of the count lines, thanks to too much power. 

“Ryoma’s losing his touch if you two are good.” laughed Nanjirou, as he tapped his racket on his shoulder. “You two need me to tie up a hand? Cause I can, you know.”

“It’s been two shots, not a game.” said Yanagi mildly, though Inui could sense the irritation in Yanagi’s tone. “Please serve now, Samurai-san.” Samurai-san somehow sounded more mocking than respectful. 

The next two serves went out, but as soon as it was their game, Inui grinned as he finally placed how the texture felt like. “It’s like playing on sand. Remember that one trip to Hawaii, Kyouju?”

Yanagi just nodded, as Inui used his height to push the Waterfall serve across the court at high speed. Nanjirou whistled as he returned the shot. “Huh, that wasn’t half bad.”

Yanagi tilted his racket a little as he volleyed the return. Cicada. The ball never bounced to Nanjirou. Point - Inui/Yanagi. Nanjirou’s eyes changed a little as he settled back into a receiving stance. 

“You know,” said Yanagi conversationally as Inui served again, “That move technically breaks the laws of gravity. Yet it still works for us. Any idea why, Samurai-san?”

Nanjirou returned the shots, deftly, without moving from his spot. Like Tezuka Zone, but not. Tezuka’s was a lot more precise, while Nanjirou’s seemed a little more haphazard. Still, it was all about the spin he was placing on the ball, which was breakable, if Yukimura’s game had been any example. “Kids these day, so curious about everything. In my day, we accepted.”

“Which means that you know something about it.” concluded Inui, as he ran for the ball and missed it. Point - Nanjirou. 

“It’s weird, isn’t it, Samurai-san? This particular era of japanese middle-school players having almost super powers while the world’s greatest hits, like Federer and Nadal and Djokovic are still at mortal standards.” asked Yanagi, as Inui served again. “We’re breaking laws of motion, laws of thermodynamics, everything stated by science.”

“Ehh, I always hated science in school. So stuffy, unimaginative. It doesn’t allow you to express yourself, not really.” said Nanjirou, cheerily, as he volleyed a drop shot. 

Yanagi dashed to return it, with another volley. “Yet the laws of science are the laws of the world. You can’t break the laws of the world by having fun.” stated Inui, as he watched Yanagi and Nanjirou volley it out. Finally, Yanagi lobbed the ball high above Nanjirou’s head, a chance shot that had perhaps a 45% chance of working. Point - Inui/Yanagi. 

Nanjirou shrugged. “Maybe you aren’t having enough fun.” He dashed to grab Inui’s serve, with an ease that Inui was impressed with, that shot had had 76.7% of getting past Nanjirou. In less than a game, Nanjirou had managed to treat it like a normal serve, despite its speed. 

“Please be serious, Echizen-san,” said Inui, with a frown, as he returned the shot with a fast backhand, “It’s a serious question. How are they better than us when we’re breaking walls and setting nets on fire and having shots that curve around the umpire stand?”

Nanjirou let the shot fly past him. Point - Inui/Yanagi. “You ask too many questions, kid. I’d drop the topic if I were you.”

“Or what, Samurai-san?” asked Yanagi, the slightly mocking address turning outright derogatory. 

Nanjirou’s eyes flickered a little as he tucked his racket on his shoulder. “Best you don’t know, kid.” He stepped off the court. “Alright, I can’t play with stuffy guys like you. It’s such a bore. Learn to stop calculating! Loosen up! Calculating’s for money, people with answers, not for tennis!”

Yanagi and Inui exchanged glances. Inui grimaced, this really hadn’t been how he’d been expecting the meeting to go. Echizen Nanjirou was really something. “Well then? Get, get, get!” said Nanjirou, shooing them as he went back to the temple bell to read...were those gravure magazines?

Inui blinked a little as they headed back to Echizen’s house. “Doesn’t it feel like a conspiracy, Hakase?” asked Yanagi, as they walked back inside. Sitting at the kitchen table was Echizen and the cat, both drinking milk. 

Echizen waved to them, as he put down his glass. “Let me guess, he was a jerk?” said Echizen, dryly. At Yanagi’s nod and Inui’s slightly unimpressed grimace, Echizen rolled his eyes. “Welcome to my life, senpai. Anyway, see you later. Sorry he was a jerk. If it helps, he’s like that to everyone.”

Inui nodded, as he toed on his shoes. It wasn’t much comfort to know that Nanjirou was like that to everyone, but he was starting to think that perhaps Yanagi was right and there was something more to the whole thing than he’d originally predicted. “Keep drinking milk, it’s important to your training menu. Goodbye, Echizen.”

As they exited Echizen’s earshot, Inui frowned at Yanagi, as something struck him. “Was it necessary to call him Samurai-san? You were making fun of him, he might have given us more answers, if we’d had more respect.”

“He likes that attitude, he has it himself.” defended Yanagi. “Besides, I think he did give us a hint. People with money, people with answers. What did he mean by that?” asked Yanagi, as they stepped away from the house. “Is he talking about someone?”

Inui shrugged. “If it’s talking about one person in specific, there’s only person I can think of.”

“Atobe.” they said in unison. 

(X)

Hyotei’s campus was overflowing with fruit trees. The smell was almost overpowering and the sparkling, pristine campus was something to behold, overflowing with fruit trees and freshly mowed lawns everywhere. And Inui had thought that Rikkai’s campus was unusually pretty for a middle-school. Yanagi looked more disgusted than awed, however. 

“I hate the smell.” he muttered, at Inui’s quizzical look. “It smells just like Seiichi’s hospital room, with the tacky citrus smell of detergent...”

Inui nodded, feeling a little sympathetic. He didn’t really know what to say. Tezuka had left the circuit that year, due to an injury, but that hadn’t been a life-threatening injury. And he and Tezuka were, by no means, close friends like Yanagi, Yukimura and Sanada were. Tezuka wasn’t really friends with anyone except Oishi and perhaps Fuji. “We shall make this trip short, then.” decided Inui, finally. It felt a little half-hearted as something to comfort Yanagi, but Yanagi smiled. 

“What information would Atobe have about it, anyway?” asked Inui, as they cut across the campus grounds, walking past the sparkling gigantic buildings and poster boards covered in Atobe’s face. “He plays with reality-bending tricks like the rest of us.”

“Perhaps it is because of his foreign circuit experience? He was raised in England, he might be able to give us insight on their fields.” asked Yanagi, shrugging. “But how in the world would Echizen Nanjirou know about that? Perhaps we have the wrong person...”

“Isn’t that Seigaku’s Inui? Hey, what are you doing here?” asked a sharp voice and the duo turned around in unison before they could ponder the idea that they could be wrong about this. Heading towards them were Shishido, Mukahi and Akutagawa, the former two supporting the sleeping latter. 

“We were looking for Atobe.” answered Yanagi, with a thin smile. Inui could tell that he was irritated that they couldn’t remember his name or even address him. It was weird when _Inui_ was the more memorable one. People were more likely to remember one of Rikkai’s three demons, rather than Seigaku’s data specialist. “Would you know where he is?”

“I think he’s in the student council room, they’re planning for the school festival, right?” asked Mukahi, as he nudged Jirou’s head off his shoulder, where he was threatening to drool on the shortest boy. 

“Everyone else has left already, I saw Saki-chan leave already. But Atobe will still be there, since he’s a workaholic.” Shishido said, boredly, as he jabbed Akutagawa in the ribs, to poke him awake. 

Inui smiled blandly. “Thank you.” he said. Perhaps the school had a map somewhere, since there seemed to be over sixteen buildings. 

“We can take you there?” said Akutagawa, sleepily, from his perch as he stirred from the sharp jab. “Kei’s room always has pillows anyway.”

Both Shishido and Mukahi glared at Akutagawa, but nodded stiffly that they assented, and started walking ahead of them, bickering slightly about homework. 

Yanagi just shook his head, with an dry grin. “I’m just glad that Marui isn’t here right now. Whenever we’ve been to Hyotei for anything, Akutagawa always asks about him incessantly.”

Inui smiled. “Same applies Fuji. Except Fuji is less intimidated by Akutagawa. He takes it in stride.”

Yanagi shrugged, as he crossed his arms across his chest. “Marui is more used to helping other people. The only person who treats him is Jackal. He gets confused when people want to do stuff for him. Not in a bad way, but confused nevertheless. Still, he enjoys the attention, after a little exposure to Akutagawa and takes advantage of it.”

“...do you guys tire of being creepy psychologists?” asked Mukahi, turning back, with a slightly creeped out look. “We’re here, anyway.” 

“You’re acting that way because you’re jealous and you wish you could apply it to your own life situations, because you feel inadequate sometimes, in comparison to your other team-members.” stated Inui, as he flashed his glasses in the light. He didn’t like being called creepy or a freak. He’d endured more than enough of that in the past, as a social outcast. That had been before Yanagi and the world of data had been introduced into his life, though. 

Mukahi shuddered and Shishido tossed Mukahi a look of confusion. Yanagi just shook his head and pushed open Atobe’s door. Atobe was at the desk, signing a large stack of papers, with a glass of non-alcoholic champagne in his hand. His eyes glanced up at the sounds of Mukahi shoving Shishido and he smiled, as he placed down the pen and stood up.

“Inui. Yanagi. What can ore-sama do for you?” he asked, with a slight touch of surprise to his voice, that was smoothed over by his natural confidence. 

“We had a couple of questions to ask, if you aren’t too busy.” said Yanagi, a little more smoothly than he had been with Nanjirou. “It’s for an important study that we’re doing.”

Atobe looked pleased. “Ore-sama would be happy to offer his generous aid to you. Please, take a seat...though, not the beanbags, it appears that Jirou has already claimed those.” he said, with a slightly apologetic smile. Yanagi and Inui both drew up chairs, and exchanged slightly amused looks at both Shishido and Mukahi’s disgruntled bickering over Akutagawa and schoolwork. It was like they couldn’t stop talking.

“Well, I’ll not waste your time with smalltalk.” Inui started. “First question is about the tennis competition back in Europe. How did they compare to Japan?” started Inui, pulling out his notebook. 

“They were better, by far.” said Atobe, with a slightly unapologetic shrug, as took a sip of his champagne. “I mean, I was only there until I was seven, and my tennis skills were not up to the splendour that they are today, but they were difficult to play. There’s a focus on playing your opponent’s weakness, rather than your strength. They exceed on the mental front.”

“So, they didn’t play with moves that you couldn’t defeat? Things that seemed beyond a normal person’s capabilities?” asked Yanagi, tilting his head. 

Atobe shook his head. “They were quite defeatable, using Insight. They had plenty of blind spots.”

Inui and Yanagi exchanged quick looks. “Not exactly like that, Atobe.” said Inui, with a slight shrug. “Did they play like us? Like japanese players. With gravity-defying shots and nets on fire and breaking of walls?”

Atobe’s face froze. To a normal person, it would be imperceptible, since he recovered almost instantaneously, but to Inui and Yanagi, it was obvious. It was proof that he knew something. like Nanjirou and unlike Yukimura and Sanada. 

“I’m not quite sure what you mean. I think you may have come to the wrong person.” he said, almost reluctantly. “They played better than we do. That’s for sure. I’d love to return to the European tennis circuit.”

That decided it, he was definitely covering something up, 97.56%. Inui smiled blandly. “Thank you for your time, Atobe. Is there anyone else you think could offer us a unique perspective about tennis in other countries as compared to Japan?”

Atobe laughed as he stood up. “I think my ideas on other interviewees will be the same as your ideas. Any foreign players on our circuit, like Liliadent Krauser and Kuwahara Jackal. Anyone competed in international tournaments and any of coaches. Other than that...I can’t say much else.” Inui hoped that Yanagi had caught the slight hint of desperation to the last statement, like Inui had. Yanagi had always been better at words and people than Inui, however, so Inui had little doubt about Yanagi’s ability to catch that. 

“I see. We’re sorry for wasting your time.” said Yanagi, with a warm smile. 

Atobe smiled in return, with the pompous nature of his general manner in life. “Oh, but you can’t leave without seeing our new gardens. Please, they’re amazing. Imported from Greece, after a generous anonymous donation to upkeep the beauty of our school.” he said, his eyes glinting. “Shishido, why don’t you show them the gardens? Take the long way, it’s more _scenic_.”

Shishido looked up from where he was engaging Mukahi in a headlock while Akutagawa took count of score. “What?” the brown-haired boy asked, not letting go of Mukahi’s head. 

Atobe just glared at Shishido, with a look like could have frozen even the hottest of plasma. Akutagawa rolled his eyes and elbowed Shishido, hard, in the side. “The _long way_ , Ryou-kun. The long voyage.” Shishido still looked blank.

“Yeah, idiot.” said a muffled Mukahi. “Stop eating so many cheese sandwiches, they clog up your mind and your arteries and you’ll be dead by thirty and then who would stop Jirou from falling asleep? The fucking long road, you moron.”

Shishido stood up and abruptly dropped Mukahi. “Right.” he said, cheerfully, as Mukahi grumbled about ungrateful friends, “Long way it is, then. This way, Inui-san, Yanagi-san.”

Inui was having trouble suppressing laughter at both Atobe’s disgruntled expression and Akutagawa’s sheer enthusiasm about the whole situation. Yanagi seemed to be doing a slightly better job than Inui, but his mouth was still twitching. He hoped that none of the Hyotei regulars decided that being a spy was a future business ideal.

Halfway through their walk with Shishido trying his best to remember the names of the paintings on the walls, and ended up describing them by the food items he could see in the painting, Inui heard a large thump from the duo behind them. Mukahi had dropped the sleeping Akutagawa without a second thought. In fact, he barely seemed to notice the fact that he’d dropped the other boy, walking along, as if he were fascinated by Shishido’s awful descriptions of the paintings.

It was very strange behaviour for two people who seemed very devoted in keeping Akutagawa from falling asleep in foreign locations and practically acted like a two-person taxi. Downright suspicious, in fact. Inui just shook his head and sighed. If they ever became spies, Japan was doomed. 

It wasn’t until they turned a corner that Shishido mimed an awful realization “Where’s Jirou, Gakuto?” he asked, his voice pitched to sound almost dull, like he was reading lines from a play book. 

“I don’t know!” said Gakuto, almost over-acting to make up for Shishido’s lack of enthusiasm. “We must have left him behind! We should go back and get him! The garden is just along the corridor, you can’t miss it. We should go get Jirou. We’ll see you soon!”

They both backpedalled far away from Yanagi and Inui, with overly exaggerated grins. The moment that they were out of earshot, Inui snorted loudly and Yanagi’s smile burst into a grin. “I hope that they are drama disgraces in this school.” Yanagi said, with a slight amusement that he hid into his fist. “Anyway, this is where we’re supposed to be...”

“This is music department.” said Inui, with a smirk as he noticed an open room with a whole section of cellos to their left. “Who’s rich, has lots of experience with tennis and is a music fanatic to boot?”

Yanagi nodded and they said in unison, “Sakaki-sensei.”

Inui nodded, as he looked up at the pompous splendour around the room and the silk scarves that seemed to decorate his door. “Right, this must be his office. Would you like to knock, Kyouju?”

Yanagi shot him a dirty look, but rapped firmly on the door anyway. 

“Enter.” said a superior drawl from inside the room. 

Yanagi and Inui stepped in and the smell of rich cologne was almost overwhelming. Yanagi, at least, seemed to prefer it to the fruits, but Inui thought that he’d preferred that smell outside. He was grateful for the fact that his glasses were thick enough to hide the fact that his eyes were watering from the smell in the air. 

“Sakaki-sensei.” they both said, with a formal bow, to the blond man who was relaxing at his chair next to a fireplace. Even if he wasn’t their teacher, he had the air about him that made him someone you needed to pay respect to. 

“Yanagi-kun, Inui-kun. I expect a pitch in a minute. If it isn’t good enough, then you’re out.” he said, clearly. Inui tilted his head. Well, he was direct, if nothing else. He still preferred Ryuuzaki-sensei as an advisor. 

Yanagi decided to step in. “Japanese middle school tennis players are playing with science-defying powers, in a way that no other country is doing. Yet Japan is considered one of the weakest countries in the world of tennis, and American and European teams do not even seem to be able achieve any of the techniques that are considered high-end here. What is your explanation for this?”

Wasn’t that a little direct? Inui tossed a look to Yanagi, it wasn’t like the other to be so direct. They both preferred to give data and let someone else draw conclusions from it. They preferred to poke at a problem delicately and with several people, so only they knew the full picture. That wasn’t the approach that Yanagi was using here. Was it desperation or something else?

Sakaki seemed to straighten in his chair even more in response to Yanagi’s words, however. “Do you really wish to know the truth, Yanagi-kun, Inui-kun? I warn you, things will not be the same.” 

The Red-Pill or Blue-Pill dilemma. Stay blissfully ignorant or become troublingly aware. Well, they both knew the answer to that question for them. There had never been a debate. No matter what the consequences, the pursuit of all knowledge was the optimal outcome. “Tell us.” they said, in unison. 

“Tennis is an international sport.” said Sakaki, finally, after appraising them briefly and disdainfully, his eyes raking over them. “But the distribution of players inside the international circuit is not fair. In a recent survey of tennis popularity worldwide, the first Asian country to appear on the list is Singapore, at seventh place. Asian countries aren’t enough of an audience to cater to. The fact is, there’s a higher chance for a European being the champion of the Slams because more europeans watch tennis. It is to cater to the masses that watch tennis, to make sure they can relate with them. Despite the level of tennis in places like Japan and China exceeding that of European countries, it is important that only a few asian players make it to the top, to keep the european viewership happy. Therefore, the players are told that no matter how high they reach, even to almost inhumane paces...that the europeans are better.”

Inui exchanged looks with Yanagi. That...still didn’t explain anything about how they were able to break the laws of motion. Nor did it sound plausible in the slightest; even if racism persisted in a social way, it wouldn’t be allowed to exist on an organizational level. There were several international laws against that now, established by the UN. 

“Or perhaps, I was lying to you and this particular generation of Japanese middle schoolers were the product of an experiment conducted on many willing parents, to see whether children could be cultivated into superheroes. However, since these are merely first trials, the children were conducted into a closely monitored sport like tennis in order to cultivate their powers, without any realization that they are different to anyone else.” said Sakaki, with only the lift of one sculpted eyebrow. 

Inui frowned. That explained things, but that was even more implausible. Even if there was a way for people to get superpowers, wouldn’t they manifest more in everyday life? And anyway, dismissing that technicality, human experiments were banned as the first trial for anything. They had to be trailed on animals close to humans only, like monkeys or pigs, before a human trial was done. And all participants had to agree. Doing it to children who would not be able to agree for themselves...well, that was ethically wrong and not something any company would be able to get away with, especially on such a large scale. 

“Or perhaps, it’s simpler than that, and you simply forget the powers of humanity when in a tough situation. Since you children are raised to think that tennis is your world, losing a tennis match starts to equate to being like in mortal danger, and so the supernatural powers surface. You’ve all heard of incidents where a man is strong enough to lift up a car, or a woman outswims a strong current when she doesn’t know how to swim. It’s a twisted application of psychology, because of your twisted priorities as children.” said Sakaki, spreading his hands delicately, as he leant back into his chair. 

“...if you’re always like this, I can see why most of Hyotei are considered clinically-insane.” said Yanagi, bluntly. Inui had to hide the snort, but he thought, that perhaps the lack of a coach in Rikkai hampered their adult-speaking-skills. That was twice today that he had been rude to an adult. 

“We have to guess the right answer?” asked Inui, and Sakaki nodded. Yanagi ruffled his hair and nodded at Inui. “Give us a few moments.” said Inui, weakly, as he pulled out some paper and handed Yanagi a pencil.

Internationally Rigged  
1\. UN Laws against racism would prevent this from happening on a corporate level  
2\. Doesn’t explain the weird shots in the first place

Eugenics Experiment  
1\. UN Laws against Human Experimentation state that humans cannot be the first line of experimentation of anything  
2\. Supernatural powers would show up in daily aspects of life  
3\. Since it is spread out through many years, not just one birth year, it feels less like a science experiment  
4\. Since it is so widespread across the country, there should be adverts for the parents in places, yet there is no trace of it

Twisted Priorities  
1\. This would apply for other countries too, doesn’t explain the concentration in Japanese kids alone.  
2\. People choose to use things like Muga no Kyouchi and gravity-bendings shots, it’s not usually something forced out on the day of the tennis match (see exception: Ryoma Echizen)  
3\. There are players who play normal tennis, but still treat tennis like a way of life (eg. Fuji Yuuta, the Jimies)

Yanagi looked up from the list and met Inui’s eyes. None of the options sounded plausible in the slightest. Yet one was more truthful than the others. “To me, Twisted Priorities sounded the least strange, but after examination, there are so many holes....” he murmured, under his breath. 

“Despite the cons against it. I think that it may just be the most unlikely-sounding, a genetic experiment.” said Inui, with a shrug. “It explains it in the most comprehensive manner.”

“Perhaps in another world, but hardly in our world.” argued Yanagi, “Unlike perhaps the racism issue, eugenics is banned for good. Prematurely banned at that; our technology is nowhere near the level it would need to be to create mutants willingly.”

Inui pushed up his glasses,a s he pulled a face. “Option 4, there’s no right answer and he’s screwing with our heads.”

“Agreed.” muttered Yanagi, with a slightly grim look towards Sakaki-sensei, who didn’t seem to hear their whisperings or was ignoring them. “Shall we just go with that answer?”

“Ask him for other options?” hissed Inui, “He might have more?”

“He’ll mess with us and you know it.” dismissed Yanagi, with a frown. “He’ll just make up some more bullshit and pretend that he’s telling us the truth. If there’s an answer at all, it’s in the three options we were given. Let’s see. Atobe knew about it, as did Echizen-san. Echizen-san seemed noncommittal and dismissive, but Atobe was scared.”

“Echizen-san quit tennis at a young age.” said Inui. “He said it was to raise Echizen-kun, but there was no need to. Several other tennis players have had amicable relations with their kids and still continued on the pro circuit. If anything, staying at home has made Echizen-kun more resentful of Echizen-san. So perhaps he quite while he was ahead, because he knew that a japanese player couldn’t reach the top because the system was rigged?” suggested Inui, quickly putting together some facts, using the first hypothesis, 

Yanagi frowned. “It still doesn’t explain how we’re able to break the laws of science. It might explain why there are less japanese players in the pro circuit. And why would Atobe be afraid of that, Sadaharu? He doesn’t plan to go into tennis anyway, he plans to go into business.”

“Because he knows that tennis is pointless and that option scares him? Atobe plays with an endpoint. He wants to be the best and if he knows the system is rigged, he won’t try in the first place.” pointed out Inui, with a frown. “He’s one of the best in Japan, and the only one that doesn’t have a small plan to try and get into the pro circuit.”

His friend sighed and palmed his hair. “He could also be afraid of the third option. Technically, pumped up hormones is like playing on drugs. You could never play again if that gets out.”

With a slight growl, Inui glanced down at the list again. “What happens if we’re wrong, Sakaki-sensei?” he asked, finally talking loudly. 

“You’ll never know the answer.” said Sakaki, with a slight smirk. “And you’ll speculate for the rest of your life since no one else will tell you the answer.”

Yanagi shook his head, in sheer disgust. It was a dreadful thing to hang knowledge in front of a curious individual and leave them speculating forever, by never confirming the answer. “It’s a wonder that they aren’t all crazy in a corner somewhere.” he muttered to Inui, “Only the younger ones seem more normal.”

Inui pulled a face in agreement as he stared down at the list, with a little dejectment. “Is there one we can eliminate altogether?”

Yanagi shook his head. “They all sound equally implausible, but for different reasons.”

“Use your instinct,” urged Inui, “There’s got to be one we can completely get rid of.”

Shutting his eyes together briefly, Yanagi sighed and pointed at the first option. “It’s really the least explanatory.” he said, exhaling briefly, his eyes fluttered fully open to stare at the paper. “My gut says eliminate that one.”

Inui nodded. “Right. Then you’re option two and I’m option three. Saishou wa guu...” He held out his fist as a rock and Yanagi tossed him an incredulous look. “Jan ken pon?” he asked, as he also held out rock. 

“Have you got any better ideas?” asked Inui. At Yanagi’s silence, he just started moving his fist. “Jan...ken...pon!” They both used scissors. Inui frowned. This had perhaps been a bad idea. He had forgotten their games of jan-ken-pon had extended for hours on end, with them guessing and second-guessing each other. 

“Use your gut, don’t think.” said Inui, with a nod. Yanagi’s eyes opened again, looking very skeptical, but they both made fists again. “Jan...ken...pon!”

Inui had paper, but Yanagi had rock. “Option 3.” they both said, together, wondering if they’d regret it. 

“One answer is more right than the others. You picked the one that was more right, but it is not the correct answer.” said Sakaki, almost cryptically. Inui wasn’t sure how that was supposed to make sense. If it was more right, it was supposed to be correct?

“There was another answer that you didn’t give us.” said Inui, with a deep frown. “Would you have told us had we asked?”

“No.” said Sakaki, simply. 

Yanagi’s temper was sizzling under the veneer of calm, Inui could see it quite clearly. Instead, Yanagi stood up and bowed, properly. “Thank you for your time, sensei.” His words were clipped and curt. He sounded a little like Sanada in that moment, and Inui stood up also and nodded his thanks. 

“See to it that you don’t ask any more questions.” said Sakaki, and though his voice was light as he said, “Itteyoshi”, they could both hear the subtle menace in his tone. 

The moment that they left his room and the music department, Yanagi’s face crumpled, and he looked more sad than angry. “This was a waste of time. I apologize, Hakase.” he said, lowly. “It is a conspiracy, and we’re not going to get any further with this topic as kids. Not without serious influence that neither of us have.”

“No.” said Inui, shaking his head with a small smile. For some reason, he had a feeling that delving deeper wouldn’t be preserving his life, and Inui liked being slive. Really. Even if his curiosity was gnawing at him now, he dropped it. “It was fun. Even if we didn’t get an answer, I had fun. I miss spending time with you, Kyouju. It was like old times.”

Yanagi paused as they stopped outside the building. His face was conflicted, filled with all sorts of fleeting emotions. Inui was impressed, it was difficult to feel so much, all at once. Yanagi seemed to struggle with words as they slowly started walking down Hyotei’s paths. 

“Hakase...no, Sadaharu. I never apologized to you.” he said, softly. “I never apologized for being a coward, for not being able to say goodbye.”

Inui felt his smile fade away. He didn’t really want to think about the months after Yanagi’s departure. He’d thrown himself into studies and practically had become a shut-in. It had been going to Seigaku’s tennis team and joining the strong bonds of friendship, wound by Oishi and Fuji and Kikumaru that had allowed him to become who he was now. 

“I was such a coward, for a whole month in Kanagawa, I couldn’t summon the courage to pick up a pho--” Inui cut off Yanagi, he didn’t want to hear it.

“You already know that I’ve forgiven you, Renji.” said Inui, simply. “Don’t apologize. I don’t want to hear it. It’s done and I don’t hold it against you. Let’s just keep moving forward.”

Yanagi blinked a little, before his face spread into a softer smile. “Right.” he said, softly. They weren’t good with emotions, not anymore, but Yanagi stepped forward to give him a quick hug anyway. “Thank you.”

Inui shut his eyes and smiled. “You know, my mum is home today and we’re closer to my house than yours now. Why don’t you stay over at my place today?”

Yanagi nodded, as they stepped away from the Hyotei grounds and out into the Tokyo streets. “That sounds optimal. I’ll use your phone to contact my mum when we get there, then.” Their laughter and chatter slowly faded away from the grounds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

From up at the window of Sakaki’s office, Atobe pulled away, a deep frown on his usually handsome face. “They’re gone now, sensei.” he said, with a nod. “They didn’t even look back.”

Sakaki didn’t even look up from his glass of wine, at the fireplace. He looked quite serene, but Atobe could tell from the fact that the entire bottle of red wine was perched on the mantelpiece, instead of just a glass, that Sakaki was unhappy. 

“Now then, Atobe. Why don’t you explain to me how it is that they managed to come past my office? They should have stopped their inquiries with _you_.” said Sakaki, haughtily and Atobe would have flinched, was he not used to dealing with the ‘music teacher’. Nobody believed for an instant that Sakaki was really just a music teacher, but with no other option, they made themselves believe. 

He had directed Inui and Yanagi here because he’d hoped that they would figure out the right answer to their question. Of course, he hadn’t given them much to work with and they weren’t omniscient, just intelligent. They only found information from clues they were given and Sakaki, Echizen Nanjirou and Atobe himself had been too sparse with clues. Atobe had been too ambitious in his hopes. 

“They shouldn’t have reached Hyotei at all.” said Atobe, firmly. “It was Echizen Nanjirou’s task to quash their curiosity and he failed. I passed them along to you, because they don’t follow my authority, but they did follow an adult’s authority. Especially an adult as influential as you, Sakaki-sensei.”

Sakaki tossed him a looked and Atobe offered a silent prayer to the god of luck, wherever he was, that Sakaki accepted his excuse. 

“Echizen Nanjirou will be punished. His indiscretions shall be discovered by the one person he wanted to keep them from.” said Sakaki, finally, as he finished his wine and got up from his armchair. “And you...well, at this U-17 camp, you shall be separated from Kabaji-kun. It’s time you grow up, Atobe.” Sakaki’s tone was slightly mocking.

‘Sensei!” protested Atobe, before his brain had the sense to shut him up. If he said anything, he’d just make it worse, like that incident with his hair. Instead, he just miserably nodded. He hoped that Echizen Nanjirou suffered like Atobe would be sure to, without his old childhood friend. If Echizen hadn’t given him hope, he wouldn’t be in this mess. 

“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have a phonecall to Konomi to make.” said Sakaki, as he took the seat behind his desk and picked up the old-style landline phone that he preferred. Atobe just watched, unable to really move. Maybe if he stayed, he could protest to Konomi-sensei about how Kabaji was useful and that he was just fourteen and he really didn’t need to grow up just yet...

Sakaki however, almost seemed to sense Atobe’s ideas, as he saluted. “Itteyoshi.” he said firmly, and that was a clearcut dismissal. Taking a deep breath, Atobe, walked out of the room with as much dignity as he could muster. 

He hated being at the whims of the creative license of two heartless people.


End file.
